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Venerated Venues: The Friendly Confines
When it comes to sports, I am first and foremost a baseball fan. I’ve been to Old Comiskey Park, Fulton County Stadium, “The Murph” (and later to Petco), Camden Yards, RFK Stadium (and later to Nationals Park). I’ll go wherever baseball is played (when I have the money) and enjoy myself and the surroundings, but for me, none of these parks can hold a candle to a game at Wrigley Field.
Growing up in the era of the superstation, it was easy to catch the Cubs or the Braves from any house that had cable, any time a game was played. (Then came the blackout era and MLB.TV, and all of that largely went away, but that’s a soapbox for another day). Wrigley was a place I saw only on TV, despite being Chicago-born and a Cubs fan since early childhood. Venturing to that mecca to catch a game was an item at the top of the proverbial bucket list, one that I was finally able to fulfill on September 1, 2003.
For my birthday that summer, my wife had given me two tickets to the Labor Day showdown between the Cubs and the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Imagine: a lifelong Cub fan on his first trip to the Friendly Confines, to see one of the best rivalries in baseball (not to mention the Cubs actually having a good team that year). As they say, a dream come true.
The forecast was gloomy, and on the drive from just south of the city to the Howard parking deck on the north side (where we would get on the L for the ride down to the ballpark), we dealt with a steady, miserable rain. While it seemed that the chances for a rainout were pretty high, nothing was going to stop me from at least walking through that venerable old stadium and gazing out at the field and the ivy.
The game was scheduled for a 1:20 start, but the rains poured, and the tarp remained on the field. We were fortunate, though, as our seats were high enough down the right-field line as to have some shelter under the upper deck. We sat next to plenty of friendly Cardinals fans (they do exist!), and just had a delightful time and great conversation. In fact, those hours seemed to pass by fairly quickly, and Cards and Cubs fans alike seemed to just enjoy being there. Cheers would erupt from everywhere each time the rain let up, followed by groans when the relentlessly gray skies opened up anew. Still, the feeling was so electric, the fans locked in their seats or taking cover under the stands, that you just knew that before the day was over there would be baseball. And sometime after 5:30, after a four-plus-hour delay, the call came over the PA — this game would be played. Indeed, the sheer joy of hearing those words “There will be baseball” was a euphoric experience shared by fans of both teams.
I don’t remember the play by play, although I do remember a hit down the left field line by Ramon Martinez that broke a close game wide open. Remember, this was back in the days when Mark Prior was a phenom, Moises Alou was raking, and Sammy Sosa was still in good graces. That game, Prior was on fire and successfully shut down the impressive Albert Pujols for most of the game. I watched Sammy do his trademark run to the fans in the right field bleachers. And while I will always prefer day baseball, make no mistake — in person, Wrigley Field is stunningly beautiful at night. By the end of the game, that beautiful old scoreboard displayed the final score of 7-0 and the W flag was raised on high.
In the end, we spent over seven hours on this hallowed ground, ate two deliciously unhealthy meals, and witnessed some great baseball. And to top it off, by the end of the five-game series that started on that Labor Day, the Cubs had moved ahead of the Cardinals in the standings and within a half-game of the division-leading Astros. The Cubs would go on to win the division and come within five outs of the NL pennant before the inevitable, infamous collapse to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 NLCS.
That gloriously rainy day shines as brightly as the sun in my memory. Cubs-Cardinals, Cubs win, seven hours at that wonderful ballpark … it was almost heaven on earth for me. What a great day that was.
I went back with my kids some nine years later for a day game against the Pirates, before the new video boards and recent construction around Wrigleyville. I haven’t been back since, although my heart and hopes were certainly there as the 2016 season came to a thrilling close. I don’t know when, but I have no doubt that someday I will once again make that pilgrimage to the Friendly Confines. I suspect, however, that it will never quite compare to that first magical journey to that hallowed place on the corner of Clark and Addison.
Published in Group Writing
During a rain delay one night,Ranger’s announcer Tom Grieve related his experience at Ten Cent Beer Night. He also told the audience he doesn’t like to talk about it.
Miffed – Cincinnati was home to Riverfront, not Riverside, later Cinergy Stadium. That was the ballpark of my youth and the Big Red Machine. There I saw all the Reds home NLCS games in 1990, their last Championship season.
I have been to a lot of MLB stadiums and participated in broadcasting games from them without actually ever sitting in a seat and seeing a pitch thrown there. But I know where the nearest restroom to the loading dock is (or was)!
By my count I have either watched games or broadcast from 18 (!) stadiums that either no longer exist or no longer host baseball. I never did baseball from Jack Murphy (Qualcomm) but I have done football from there.
Back in the 1950s the Milwaukee Braves let you bring your own beer into the stadium. I read a story about one fan who bought two season tickets. One seat for himself, and one to have a place to put a case of beer that he brought to every game.
My apologies – I was only there once (June of 2001).
It certainly wasn’t intended to be in such a list, per se. The only one in that list I consider ‘venerated’ is Wrigley. I was just listing the parks I’ve been to.
I had more trips there than any of the others, though, due to proximity.
@miffedwhitemale we put beer into plastic milk jugs and could bring those in (no glass) to Memorial Stadium. I went to about 6 consecutive Opening Days and 6 consecutive closing days there. It snowed on one opening day.
This was all back in the 1980s.
I have been to Memorial, old Yankee Stadium, the Superdome in Seattle, Candlestick, and Atlanta Fulton County for stadiums that aren’t really there anymore. Plus Comiskey, Fenway, Wrigley, County Stadium in Milwaukee ….
Milwaukee still lets you bring in non-alcoholic beverages, as long as they’re in factory-sealed plastic bottles.
You can also bring in food – I once stopped at a pizza joint on the way to the game and picked up an entire 16 inch pizza and brought it in with me. Felt like an idiot carrying it through the parking lot to the gate, but it cost less than the little 6-inch pizzas they sold at the concession stands.